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Connect the World
Red Cross: Roads, Bridges, Public Buildings Damaged in Myanmar; Many Feared Dead in Major Earthquake in Southeast Asia; Lebanese TV: Israel Strikes Beirut for First Time Since November; Inflation Holds Steady at 2.5 Percent in February; President Putin Calls for "Temporary Administration" in Ukraine; Scientist: Major Quake in Myanmar was "Not Expected". Aired 9- 10a ET
Aired March 28, 2025 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, this is one of the scenes of destruction in Bangkok, where at least one person was killed and
dozens injured when a building under construction collapsed, many more feared dead in neighboring Myanmar, the epicentre of what was a huge
earthquake. It's 08:00 p.m. in Bangkok. It is 05:00 p.m. in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson, you're watching "Connect the World".
Also coming up this hour, Israel strikes Southern Beirut for the first time since a ceasefire was agreed in October. Greenland races for a highly
politicized visit from the U.S. Vice President and the Second Lady. And Europe divided over after France's President suggests sending reassurance
forces, as he describes them, to underpin a possible ceasefire in Ukraine.
And the stock market in New York opens about 30 minutes from now, futures indicating a lower open. Investors will be digesting the latest data out of
the U.S. Commerce Department released just about 30 minutes ago, 2.5 percent increase in the personal consumption expenditures price index.
That's an important month. It's one the Fed keeps an eye on.
And of course, it showed that Americans increased spending last month and inflation held steady. But it looks like uncertainty over inflation might
be the biggest influence on investors this Friday, they are also keeping an eye, of course, on any further detail from the U.S. President when it comes
to his trade tariffs.
Well, many deaths and injuries that is how Myanmar's military junta is describing conditions there after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit powerful
enough to impact Thailand or parts of Thailand more than 1000 kilometers away from the epicentre. You're looking at scenes from Myanmar's second
largest city, Mandalay.
There appears to be extensive damage there. The government has declared an emergency situation. It is now calling for blood donations. And in the Thai
Capital of Bangkok, search and rescue teams have been focused on a building that collapsed when the quake hit, at least three people were killed. More
than 80 are said to remain trapped under the rubble. This is how it looked and sounded when the building collapsed about 6.5, 7 hours ago.
Well, you can see and hear the panic. Thailand's Prime Minister is trying to ease fears, telling people it is now safe to return indoors. She says at
least a dozen aftershocks have been reported. Well, the largest confirmed aftershock near the epicentre in Myanmar at magnitude 6.4.
Let's kick off this hour with CNN's Mike Valeria, who is joining us from Seoul. And Mike, you and I have been speaking over the past couple of
hours. The team, CNN's team around the region, working very hard to establish just what sort of impact this huge quake, with its epicentre just
close to Mandalay, has had? What's the latest as you understand it?
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, we're hearing from two aid organizations within five minutes before this show just came on the air.
The first one is Amnesty International. This is thanks to friend of the show, Lauren Kent, who is working in our London Newsroom, keeping track
with us of all of these news conferences, and who's saying what?
So, according to Lauren's reporting, she's saying that Amnesty International is urging the military junta in charge of Myanmar since
February 2021 to allow humanitarian aid into the country unimpeded. And why that is so important is because, you know, for everybody catching up on
what's going on in Myanmar, this is a country where the military controlled government has been at war with rebel groups since February 2021 in the
cities, in the jungle stalemates in different quarters of the country.
So, there's a big concern, right? That if we have this cataclysmic earthquake 7.7 on the moment magnitude scale, holy moly. You know how
exactly is a humanitarian herculean effort going to be constructed, going to be orchestrated inside a country that is in the middle of a civil war
that is an open question.
[09:05:00]
And we're hoping to hear from the Acting Leader, the Acting President of Myanmar Min Aung Hlaing, who has not as far as were able to see addressed
the country as of yet. We're also hearing second aid organization, Becky from the Red Cross Chapter that oversees its work in Myanmar.
And I mean, we led the show with that heart stopping video of the 30-storey skyscraper under construction that came toppling down in Bangkok. There's a
new concern closer to the epicentre in Myanmar, the Red Cross is saying they are concerned large scale dams. They have concerned that dams in
Myanmar can fail.
And they are concerned that the people who are watching these dams could potentially be at risk as well. That's according to Marie Manrique, who is
the Myanmar Program Coordinator for the International Federation of the Red Cross. We're also keeping our eyes trained on social media, on Facebook,
posts, on X, anything that's being posted to YouTube or YouTube Shorts or IG in terms of the hospital situation, especially in Mandalay, the
epicentre of the quake.
But other hospitals in Yangon -- to see if they are overrun. What exactly is the hospital situation and what humanitarian teams from Australia, from
Thailand, from different corners of this part of the globe are going to be working with as soon as they are able to get inside the country, Becky.
ANDERSON: More, of course, as we get it from Myanmar. It's going to be difficult, but we are on it and you're right to have indicated exactly what
the aid agencies are appealing for there. So, thank you on that.
Let's move on, then to Thailand and what we understand to be happening in Bangkok this hour. We've got video of this building collapsing, still under
construction. You're going to fill in on the detail of that this building collapsing as the tremors were for first fell, and we do know that people
have died and that there are many who are unaccounted for at this point. What do we know at this stage, Mike?
VALERIO: 81 people, is what the Defense Ministry is saying in terms of the number of people alone who are missing underneath that pile of concrete.
So, we're hoping for a miracle to unfold on Facebook Live on our video feeds that we're watching during the overnight hours.
Because earlier on in our reporting, the Government of Thailand had said that there were, if memory serves, around 20 people in an elevator, in a
lift who they had lost contact with. So, we were saying, OK, 20 people. Now it is risen within the past half hour to 81 people who are presumed
trapped. This is by far the worst scene in Bangkok.
So, what we're able to understand through our reporting from -- in Hong Kong and -- from CNN Headquarters in United States, they're terrific
reporting, showing it's, a 30-storey building under construction for a few years, topped off March 31st of 2024, by a Chinese engineering company that
had celebrated this project that was near the finishing stages of completion.
According to social media posts that we've been able to look at, and those social media posts have since been taken down. But you just wonder, and
think of the drama and how exactly they are staging any kind of rescue operation under those contract lights right now, after the horror of those
multiple stories coming down pancaking on top of one, on top of another on top of another.
I have the update from the Defense Ministry of Thailand, and I'm just making sure we haven't missed anything and we haven't. That's where it
stands right now. So, we'll keep you posted. We'll come back to the show if we have new developments Becky.
ANDERSON: Good. It's good to have you Mike, thank you, and thank you to the team around the region and in our headquarters in other parts of the world
who are working very hard on this. CNN's Weather Team also following this extremely closely. Let's bring back Meteorologist Derek Van Dam. What have
you got, sir?
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah Becky, look, we got some other extraordinary video coming out of Bangkok as well. This is of one of the
many high rises that are pre-positioned in a way to absorb earthquake activity, just like this.
[09:10:00]
Notice the pool at the top of this high-rise building, and look at the water sloshing back and forth and spilling over the edges. Sometimes in
these newly constructed buildings, they actually utilize pools of the tops of these high rises to dampen earthquake activity. It is acting as it's
supposed to in this particular situation.
And I just find this type of video extraordinary to show you the engineering feats that are in play here for these earthquake prone areas.
But of course, we've seen the not so fortunate buildings that have collapsed, the pancaking effect from the violent shaking that has occurred
from this magnitude 7.7.
So, we're going to recap, for people who are just now tuning in, following this major breaking news of a significant earthquake that struck the
central portions of Myanmar. 7.7 this happened roughly around 12:50, in the afternoon, local time on March 28th. But what's interesting to note is the
depth of this earthquake, and I'm going to explain why?
That is a shallow natured earthquake, and that is significant. Don't need to be an expert to really understand this. The fact that it is so shallow
it is near the surface, the shaking is going to ripple out in all directions, so it will be more felt towards the surface versus if this was
a deeper focal point of an earthquake, that means that the ground would absorb the shaking.
Unfortunately, that results in significant damage in the locations where people live. So, there's three different types of fault lines that traverse
the entire planet. There are the normal fault lines that separate during an earthquake, a reverse type of fault line. But what took place here in
Myanmar is known as a strike slip.
So, the Sagaing Fault runs parallel right through Myanmar. If you look at a map on the USGS website, you can see it. This actually moves about 18
millimeters per year. So, in a course of a decade, it moves about 10 or 7, rather 7 inches. So, let's say you were to build a fence across this very
fault line here in Myanmar, for instance.
In 10 years-time, you would have a seven-inch separation just by the pure nature of its movement over time. Remember, 18 millimeters per year. Sounds
like a little but that's quite significant, because there's a lot of pent- up energy that is associated with that strike slip motion that I showed you on the graphics a moment ago.
So, that explodes or erupts into a significant earthquake at some point in time, and it just happened to be about six hours ago. Look at the number of
people that felt the shaking just incredible. Nearly 90 million people felt at least light to weak shaking, but when we're talking about the real
serious business stuff, the severe to violent shaking, several million people in and around the epicentre here felt the shaking.
And you bet Becky, there will certainly continue to be aftershocks going forward, and we need to brace ourselves for a high fatality event,
especially when we compare this to previous similar events. And I'm thinking about 2023 in Turkey, the earthquake that unfortunately caused
over 50,000 fatalities.
ANDERSON: Yeah. I covered that, and it is -- it's never easy to see what people are going through, and it's never easy to witness the rescuers as
they try and pull people out of these buildings. Look, it's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed.
We're joined now by Sanda Thant, who felt the tremors hundreds of kilometers away from the epicentre in Myanmar. Thant is a Researcher at
Thailand's Asian Institute of Technology. She joins us now live from Chiang Mai, and just walk us through those moments when you felt the tremors there
in Thailand, if you will.
SANDA THANT, THAILAND ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY RESEARCHER: Oh yeah, actually, you see it was exactly 01:25 p.m., just this afternoon. I have
hypertension. So, I firstly thought that I am having the high blood pressure and my anxiety popped up. Then I saw the fruit tree in front of
the house and shaky. And my -- are also shaky. My -- are on and off. So, I realized that it is -- it is an earthquake.
It was terrible. And I also moved living under another table. So, at the same time, I was also thinking that it is only Chiang Mai, but later on, in
a minute, the news, also -- you know came up and a -- and then news of Bengal, and also a lot of places in Myanmar as well.
ANDERSON: Are you aware of any damage there, where you are in Chiang Mai?
THANT: Yeah, actually -- you know, I don't go outside because I'm afraid of like having that again, that's why. But I also see a lot of damage,
especially from Bangkok, so I have friends and relatives there, and also, they cannot stay in the -- media. They have to stay outside.
[09:15:00]
And some of them, they have like elder, we elder mother, so that might be a very much difficult to find a place because they cannot stay in a
condominium.
ANDERSON: Yeah, understood. And the way you felt is echoed by other people who felt -- you know at the onset of the tremor, that they had a health
issue -- you know then suddenly you realize it's not you, it's an earthquake. Look, I want to just before I let you go, just take a moment to
focus on the women of Myanmar. What will be the impact short and longer term of this earthquake for them?
THANT: Yeah, thank you so much for asking this question. So, there I also would like to highlight five by one is women and men experience
differently. There are pre-existing equal -- inequality between genders, for example, access to information. Women are 29 percent less likely to own
mobile phone than men, which is the major device to get the information.
Second is not all, women feeling the same, disabled, pregnant and lethargic women are more vulnerable due to the extremely limited access to health
services and other busy services. The third why, it also will be more burden for the women because of their care and domestic works.
So, and the fourth point is earthquake and other natural disaster, coupled with display situation can increase exploitation, trafficking and sexual
violence. We had evidence in -- cyclone in 2008 after disaster, women are often at high risk of mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.
So, people in Myanmar have already been suffering from economic hardship, conflict and also airstrike, things -- you know particularly down in 2021
this doesn't make the situation worse.
ANDERSON: Yeah. Sanda, you're making a very good point. And thank you for your insight, and thank you for sharing your story. And I'm glad that
you're OK --
THANT: Thank you.
ANDERSON: -- as we continue to report on the impact and fallout of this earthquake in Southeast Asia. Next up, we're going to get some of our other
news today, including violence erupting between Israel and Lebanon for the first time since the ceasefire was agreed last year, very specifically in
Beirut. More on that is coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:20:00]
ANDERSON: Well back to the Breaking News out of Southeast Asia for you. A major 7.7 magnitude earthquake striking Myanmar and triggering the collapse
of buildings more than 1300 kilometers away in Bangkok in Thailand. Here you see one of those buildings where a search and rescue operation is now
underway for survivors.
At least three people died in Thailand, at least three others dead in Myanmar, and that death toll, sadly, is expected to go higher. More on
that, as we get it to another story we are following here on CNN, for the first time in four months, Israel has struck targets in Southern Beirut.
That is according to Lebanese TV. This came after the Israeli military said two projectiles were fired at Israel from Lebanon. It is the first
significant eruption of violence since ceasefire was agreed last November. Jeremy Diamond following the story for us from Tel Aviv, Jeremy.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Becky, the Israeli military did indeed strike the Lebanese capital today after two rockets were fired
towards Israel from Lebanon. This is the first time, indeed, since that November ceasefire went into effect, that Israel has carried out an air
strike in the Lebanese capital.
The Israeli military said that it attacked a Hezbollah drone storage facility, which was inside a building in a residential area of the southern
suburbs of Beirut and the Israeli military accused Hezbollah of a, quote, blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon with
that rocket fire.
It is important to note that Hezbollah so far has denied being responsible for that rocket fire from Lebanon. The Israeli military did, however, issue
evacuation warnings about an hour and a half before that air strike took place in Beirut. It's important to note that there were a number of schools
in that area as well which were evacuated ahead of this strike.
The aftermath footage from this air strike is quite remarkable. This building entirely leveled by the bombs that were dropped by the Israeli Air
Force earlier today. This all happening just within the last few hours. And now, of course, raising questions about, you know, the ability of this
ceasefire to be maintained, to continue.
Important to note, of course, that Israel has regularly carried out air strikes in Lebanon since the ceasefire went into effect, accusing Hezbollah
of violating the ceasefire agreement in various ways, and then going after those targets. But that has largely been limited to southern Lebanon. And
now to see this airstrike in the Lebanese capital, obviously very much ups the ante.
ANDERSON: Yeah. And it's important to point out that, although these are the first strikes on Beirut, that, as you rightly point out, southern
Lebanon has been hit between the signing of this ceasefire, of course, and you make, you know, an important point here. What we have to ask ourselves,
does this mean in terms of this ceasefire deal now? Is it clear?
DIAMOND: It is not yet. You know, we will have to wait and see how Hezbollah reacts if they choose to react. You know, last week we also saw
something quite similar, although it wasn't in the Lebanese capital. We did see the Israeli military carry out a series of quite powerful air strikes
in southern Lebanon.
[09:25:00]
Some of the most powerful that we have seen amid this ceasefire that also fired followed the firing of several rockets towards northern Israel from
southern Lebanon. And what's important to note here is that the images that we have seen now of the rocket launchers from last week and this week look
quite similar.
They also look quite rudimentary, which could point to another militant group, perhaps a smaller Palestinian militant group based in southern
Lebanon being responsible for firing these rockets, rather than Hezbollah. But what the Israeli government has said in the position that they have
staked out is that ultimately, it is the Lebanese government that is responsible for enforcing this ceasefire on the Lebanese side of the
border, that they are going to hold Lebanon.
The Lebanese government responsible for any violations. And clearly that they are also going to hold Hezbollah responsible for any violations, even
if Hezbollah is not directly behind these attacks. Hezbollah, again, has denied firing these rockets that sparked this incident today.
Important to note, there two projectiles were fired from Lebanon. One of those was intercepted before it hit a target in Israel. The other fell
short, actually falling within Lebanese territory. So again, now we are going to wait to see whether Hezbollah decides that it is going to respond
with its own rockets fired towards northern Israel, or whether they will not.
And perhaps if they do not then this ceasefire has a chance of staying alive, although, again, caveating that notion with the fact that there have
been a number of Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the ceasefire went into effect in November. Of course, Israel saying that they carried those out
following Hezbollah violations of the ceasefire agreement as well, Becky.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Jeremy. Thank you. Well, in other news, before daybreak, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance
boarded a flight from Joint Base Andrews bound for Greenland. The vice president decided last minute, to join his wife for what the White House
had originally described as a cultural visit.
But amid Donald Trump's talk about annexing the place, the Island's Prime Minister calls it highly aggressive. All CNN has learned that National
Security Adviser Michael Waltz, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Republican Senator Mike Lee are also going along.
Lee had been a vocal supporter of President Trump's desire to acquire agreement, officials say the group will be all of 5.5 hours on the ground.
More on the breaking news out of Myanmar and Thailand after this short break. I'm Becky Anderson, do stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:30:00]
ANDERSON: Right, the markets, or the opening bell on Wall Street has just rung. The markets are now open. It's been a tough old time for investors
really working out what's going on with regard Trump's tariffs. This is the story, and this is really with one eye earlier on the futures market.
This was no surprise markets down between about a fifth of 1 percent and a third of 1 percent there. So that's the markets open as they settle down.
We've had some inflation data out today. So, let's have a look at that. And new data showing inflation held steady last month. the personal consumption
expenditures index up 2.5 percent year over year, the same as in January.
We also learned that consumer spending edged just higher last month, reversing what was previous month's decline. CNN Business Reporter Matt
Egan with us. What are we learning out of this data, and ultimately, is it really going to affect the way that investors decide how to place their
bets today, Matt?
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Becky, this report was kind of mixed. Listen, as you mentioned, the headline inflation number. This is the fed's go to
inflation gage. It showed the prices were up by 2.5 percent. That was steady. That was exactly as expected. However, core inflation, which
removes food and energy, that moved in the wrong direction.
It's unexpectedly heated up in a significant way. And so that is disappointing, because it's showing that underlying inflation pressure has
been persistent. And keep in mind the big asters here is that all of this comes before the elephant in the room, right, which is the president's
trade war, because this captures price changes in February, and we know that most of the tariffs were not even imposed in that point.
At that point, right? You had the initial round of tariffs on China, but they only went higher in March and then hit steel and aluminum. Plus, the
limited tariffs on Canada and Mexico, more tariffs next week as well are expected. So, this is just kind of a snapshot in time. Now, the other big
part of this report is spending.
Now, if you recall, we saw that spending dropped in January, and that did set off some alarm bells on Wall Street about a slowdown, or even a
recession. The good news is that today's report showed that, yes, consumer spending did rebound in February, going up by 0.4 percent after January was
actually revised even lower, down 2.3 percent.
However, this is not a massive rebound in spending, and when you adjust for prices, real spending was only up a little bit. So, some economists are
pointing out in some research reports out in just the last few moments that this does point to some softness when it comes to consumer spending, and we
know that, that is the biggest driver of the economy.
And again, the question is, what happens to spending as Americans continue to pay attention to all of the news out in terms of tariffs, right? I mean,
we've seen consumer confidence, consumer sentiment, take big hits as people are trying to make sense of all these policy changes around big tariff
increases.
But also, the federal spending cuts, the federal layoffs, the immigration crackdown. There's a lot of volatility right now coming out of Washington.
And so, Americans are just trying to make sense of it all. Some of them are hunkering down. They're spending a little bit less than they would have
otherwise.
And you know, that does have an economic impact. So, we're seeing the market kind of take this in stride, opening, I think, a little bit lower on
the day, not a dramatic response from investors.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
EGAN: But look, the big question, Becky, is going to be, how does the economy react in the coming weeks to all of these tariff increases?
ANDERSON: Absolutely and Donald Trump reserves the right to be, quote, flexible on these tariffs. Yesterday, once again, we saw a slightly
different narrative threatening Europe and Canada, that if they get together and harm the U.S. economy in response, of course, to the tariffs
that they are being threatened with.
[09:35:00]
Then they should be where, as it were, we're hearing some talk from Donald Trump that he might reduce the terrors on China, for example, if they play
ball with his ideas for TikTok. So, all of this you know is provides a sense of uncertainty, which you and I have been saying, you know, for weeks
now, is no good for investors playing these markets.
I just wonder very briefly with the auto tariffs, and that was something that the U.S. President announced earlier on in the week, a 25 percent slap
on tour on tariffs for auto parts and cars. Are those tariffs likely to affect the sticker price of a vehicle for an American buying in, for
example, Arizona going forward, because, you know, America is going to watch out how this affects their bottom line, their back pocket, right?
EGAN: Yeah, Becky, we could definitely be looking at sticker shock for car buyers, because half the cars sold in America are imported, so now they
have this 25 percent tariff coming -- kicking in just the coming days. And don't forget that obviously a lot of cars are made in American factories,
but they contain a lot of foreign parts, which face a tariff in the coming weeks.
So that's why we already have seen some estimates out their Wolf research, estimating that the cost of a car to consumers could go up by at least
$4,000 because of tariffs. Goldman Sachs saying that the cost of an imported car could go up by between 5 and $15,000 and obviously that is not
captured in today's inflation report, which measured price changes back in February.
So how do those loom price hikes on cars and car parts factor into inflation in the coming weeks and months. And how does central bankers and
investors respond? There's a lot of major questions looming on the inflation front, Becky.
ANDERSON: Yeah, and how do they automakers themselves respond? A report in the last 24 hours in one of the media suggesting that Trump has warned U.S.
automakers not to raise prices in response to tariffs, and this warning reportedly came some weeks ago. All right, well, it's good to have you.
Thank you.
EGAN: Thank you.
ANDERSON: We are following breaking news. A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand earlier today. Myanmar's military junta
says many civilians were killed and injured in the 7.7 magnitude quake. They have declared an emergency situation in the central part of that
country, including the City of Mandalay, which has a population of over a million.
And that earthquake also triggering the collapse of buildings hundreds of miles away in Thailand. At least three people confirmed dead in Bangkok,
and dozens are injured. And the Thai government says 81 people are trapped under the rubble of one collapsed building in Bangkok.
Rescue crews there racing to help try and free them. CNN's Nada Bashir standing by in London. And Nada, you've been keeping an eye on and
monitoring what is going on in Myanmar. It's tough to get information out of that country. What do we know about the impact of this significant
quake, very specifically on the town of Mandalay, but elsewhere?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is extremely tough, Becky, to get information out of Myanmar at this stage. We are still waiting for an
update on official figures with regards to the death toll and injuries. It's understood that hundreds may have been impacted at least by this 7.7
magnitude earthquake.
But of course, it's important to note that the epicenter, the areas impacted in central Myanmar, is an area that has already been ravaged by
years of conflict between the leading the ruling military regime and rebel groups, including pro-democracy resistance groups.
This is an area that has already faced significant struggles over the past years. This is only going to add more challenges to those civilians living
in parts of central Myanmar, as you mentioned, the military regime has declared an emergency situation across parts of central Myanmar.
We've had calls from emergency officials with regards to the need for blood donations in hospitals in this region to support those that have been
impacted. But still no broad ranging official figure on the number of casualties. It's understood that at least three people were killed
following the partial collapse of a mosque in central Myanmar.
But again, these are early-stage figures. It is expected to rise significantly. What we've been hearing from aid organizations on the
ground, including the Red Cross in Myanmar, is that there has been significant damage to public infrastructure, including public buildings,
roads, bridges.
There is concern around the dams in the region, potential dam collapse as well, particularly if we do see aftershocks. But again, getting that
information out has proven difficult, could continue to prove difficult, given the influence of the military regime. We've seen severe restrictions
on independent press.
[09:40:00]
There are restrictions on access to social media. There have been internet blackouts as a result of the earthquake, which, of course, is making it
difficult to get up to date information on the ground. And of course, important to underscore the humanitarian situation that people in Myanmar
had been facing prior to the earthquake.
Millions of people displaced as a result of the conflict within the country, staggering levels of hunger as well across the country. So, this
is going to have a severe impact on the humanitarian situation. On the ground, the Red Cross has said it has teams deployed around parts of
central Myanmar providing first aid and other support.
But other organizations, including Amnesty International have called on the military regime in Myanmar to allow for more humanitarian aid in to allow
for more freedom for humanitarian organizations to operate on the ground. There has been, over the last few years, significant restrictions on the
operations of such humanitarian organizations.
So that will be a significant challenge. There will be a need for a significant response by aid groups and humanitarian organizations to
provide that emergency response and relief. So that is a huge focus now for international organizations. There is likely to be calls for international
support.
We know that the government in India has already offered support for the military regime in Myanmar, but again, we are still waiting for those
official updates with regards to the full extent and impact of this devastating earthquake.
ANDERSON: Got it. Thank you, Nada. Well ahead on "Connect the World", as European leaders call for renewed support for Ukraine. Russia's President
talks about his ideas for the country's future, the country -- Ukraine. More on that after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: The French President Emmanuel Macron has proposed sending reassurance forces, as he describes them, drawn from numerous European
armies to Ukraine once a ceasefire is reached. Speaking at the Coalition of the Willing in Paris, he said they would, quote, provide long term support,
reassurance to the armies, and act as a deterrent potential Russian aggression.
Well, at this summit, European leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to Ukraine and agreed that it is not the time to lift sanctions on Russia. Now
this comes as Russia offers new proposals for the future of Ukraine. As CNN's Fred Pleitgen now reports.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Russian President Vladimir Putin is now floating the idea of a possible temporary
administration for Ukraine, and he's even talking about all that being possibly under the auspices of the U.N. as the Russian President has said.
Now, the Russians have for quite some time been trying to paint Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as what they call an illegitimate leader.
Because, of course, there were supposed to be presidential elections in Ukraine in the early stages of 2024 but those elections didn't happen.
[09:45:00]
Now the Ukrainians say that all of this is because of the war that's going on in Ukraine, and because large parts of Ukrainian territory are under
occupation by the Russian forces. Nevertheless, the other argument that Vladimir Putin is also floating is he says, look, if there are going to be
peace negotiations with the Ukrainians, the Russians don't even know who could sign any sort of peace agreement if the President of Ukraine is not
legitimate.
Now, in all of this, Vladimir Putin has actually been getting some backing from U.S. President Donald Trump, who recently called Volodymyr Zelenskyy a
dictator without elections. Now he kind of walked that back a little bit later, but he certainly didn't take that back.
At the same time, though, the United States is saying that for them, the important thing is the Ukrainian constitution and nothing else. Fred
Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
ANDERSON: Well, still to come, the search is on for survivors after what was a powerful earthquake that rocked Myanmar, leveling buildings and
sending the country into a state of emergency. A look at the damage after this.
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ANDERSON: Returning to our Breaking News out of Southeast Asia, where a massive earthquake struck Myanmar, causing catastrophic damage. Tremors
were felt more than 1300 kilometers away in Bangkok in Thailand, where it also caused devastation. So far, there are six confirmed deaths, with many
feared to have perished in search and rescue crews scour through the rubble in both places, looking for survivors.
The 7.7 magnitude quake is being described as a great knife cut into the earth. Well, I spoke to a documentary producer a short time ago who felt
the quake in Bangkok. Here's what she told me.
TEIRRA KAMOLVATTANAVITH, DOCUMENTARY PRODUCER: So, when the earthquake started, it was around 01:20 p.m. so around lunchtime, I was having lunch
at home. I was sitting on the floor, and when the shake started, I didn't even click. I didn't even comprehend, I couldn't even comprehend that it
was an earthquake, because I have never experienced an earthquake before in my life.
I thought I was there something wrong with me. I felt lightheaded and I was dizzy. But then my dog started barking, and then my partner, who was also
next to me, said that he experienced the shakes as well. So, we ran outside trying to figure out what was going on.
The grounds were shaking so much that I had to hold on to my car just to keep from falling, and I felt a little bit of motion sickness.
[09:50:00]
I felt dizzy, and I couldn't even believe it was an earthquake. My partner was saying it's an earthquake, and I was like, there's no way that, you
know the earthquakes don't really happen in Thailand, because in my lifetime. And also, I spoke to my dad, who's turning 70 this year, in his
lifetime, he has also never experienced an earthquake in Bangkok, especially of this magnitude.
So, it was really difficult to wrap my head around. And we have this water tank that's a bit more, old fashioned in our house, and the water inside
was swooshing, and it just felt very unreal. And it took me a minute to really wrap my head around, and I got -- I started messaging my friends and
getting on X right away.
And everyone was very confused in the initial two minutes, I think everyone couldn't even comprehend what's happening. There were questions like, what
is this? Is this an earthquake? Why do we have earthquakes right now? People just couldn't even believe it was really happening. So, there was
definitely a sense of shock and panic everywhere in Bangkok.
ANDERSON: Frightening stuff, and how are your friends and family? Is everybody OK?
KAMOLVATTANAVITH: Everyone is safe. A lot of my friends who are in the center of the city, who live on who work or live in taller apartments and
office buildings have been evacuated. I just got a text before this interview about five minutes ago, one of my friends just got led back into
the building after she had been evacuated at 01:00 p.m.
A lot of people are still on the streets because they have been evacuated and they have nowhere to go. So, some of the streets are just filled with
crowds sitting on the sidewalk as well major public transportations, including the MRT and the BTS sky train, which is the main mode of
transportation for a lot of people in Bangkok, have suspended service until tomorrow morning.
So, a lot of people are just on the streets. One of my friends sent me a picture of Sukhumvit road, which is one of the major roads in Bangkok. And
he -- and I quote, he says, it looks like the apocalypse. They're just people everywhere -- it looks like it's just a big crowd, and a lot of
people are just figure out the next steps.
ANDERSON: Yeah, and we are seeing similar images here on CNN, traffic at a standstill, people on the streets. Just describe for those who are
watching, who may not have been to Bangkok, just the sort of scale of the city and what something like this, an incident like this, means. I mean,
you say, you know, the transportation has ground to a whole. What sort of impact is this having?
KAMOLVATTANAVITH: Bangkok is a huge city with a lot of people living in it, and Thailand is not an earthquake prone zone, typically, we don't
experience earthquakes, and we are the authorities, and the people are quite ill equipped to handle something of this scale.
There are advice and tips and graphics being shared on social media, advising people how to protect themselves, how to stay safe and what to do
doing an earthquake, because that is just something most Bangkokians have no knowledge of. And there are huge concerns about structural damage to
buildings because -- as because Thailand is not usually prone to earthquakes.
A lot of these buildings are not designed to withstand earthquakes. So, I think the biggest fear right now is the -- like, how the structure of the
building will hold up after the earthquake and possible aftershocks. And I think a lot of people are in panic, and you can see it on the streets. You
know, the traffic is just has grounded to a halt.
If you look at the maps, it's just red lines indicating traffic all over people are just trying to wrap their heads around what is happening and
what it means for Thailand, what it means moving forward with construction, and is this something we have to keep in mind now? Yeah, I think the
atmosphere is just quite still in panic from the earthquake that just happened hours ago.
ANDERSON: Right. More as we get it, of course. Experts have been concerned for years about this area, which has got a dangerous fault line. Shengji
Wei is a researcher in Singapore. He studies plate tectonics and seismic activity, and he spoke with CNN a short time ago. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHENGJI WEI, PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR OF EARTH OBSERVATORY OF SINGAPORE: This is not an unexpected event based on our research. So, myself and the other
teams in our institute, we have been investigating the seismic hazard in Myanmar since about 10 years ago.
So, the earthquake took place along the segment of the Sagaing Fault, which is a plate boundary type of fault. It's a major fault in Myanmar. This
fault has hosted big earthquakes in the past few 100 years, and it has been acquired since about 200 years ago.
[09:55:00]
And based on these historical studies. As well as modern geophysical investigations, we know that this place, this segment of the fault, is
likely to rupture as a big earthquake in the near future. So, we have been communicating with the Myanmar governments as well as local scientists,
highlighting the potential high risk, seismic risk along this segment of the fault.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, that is it for this hour, but we're just taking a very short break back with more after this.
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